Sarasota Tiki Time is Any Time

Few things scream Florida vacation more than a tiki bar. The palapa overhead, the cool drinks in hand, the salty breeze drifting through the open-air venue – the combination is a tropical trifecta perfect for tourists and locals alike who are searching for that calming escape that the tiki always provides. Wherever you are in Sarasota County, a tiki bar sits waiting for you to visit, to let out that deep breath, to let the shoulders relax, and to become one with the tiki.

O’Leary’s Tiki Bar & Grill may be the most popular tiki bar in Sarasota. Located downtown adjacent to the marina and Bayfront Park, O’Leary’s offers panoramic water views and a sunset unlike any other. Watch the boats drift past and disappear under the Skyway Bridge while listening to soothing troprock music as the sand squishes underfoot. Pets are welcome and O’Leary’s may be the most kid-friendly tiki option. My kiddos can throw stones into the Bay and pet dogs all day – it’s their happy place, and luckily it coincides with mine, so we all win.

Captain Curt’s Sniki Tiki on Siesta Key proves that a good tiki bar doesn’t have to be directly on the water to give that same chill vibe. Sitting out back of the venue, located between Siesta Key Beach and Turtle Beach, you get the best of both worlds – the soothing sensation that you’re moving with the breeze and waves until nature has massaged you into a loose noodle but still away from the hustle and bustle of….everyone else. It’s like the back of a Hawaiian island where the tourists can’t find you, but you still get the vibe.

Part of the Lido Beach Club, the  Lido Beach Club Poolside Tiki Bar is open to the public to enjoy in all its tropical glory. It’s the tiki for meeting up with friends to see and be seen. Sunsets over the Gulf are hard to beat and its discreet location leads to a lesser crowd to fight for access to the bar. The Lido Beach Club Poolside Tiki Bar is only open until 7pm so it’s the perfect place to mingle all day and begin your night out with a stroll on the beach.

A stroll along Lido Beach, with its soft sands underfoot and crystal clear water kissing the shore, brings you to the Lido Key Tiki Bar, a gleaming beacon calling you to succumb to its siren call. You hear it. It’s begging you to leave your feet bare and belly up to the bar for a mudslide. Hop on a stool or turn around to admire the glistening Gulf in front of you as you wonder ‘is this real?’ To prove it is not a mirage, you’ll be hungry (no one is ever hungry in dreams), so you order some of the outstanding food that comes from the Ritz-Carlton (wait, maybe it is a dream…a tiki bar with food from the Ritz?). While technically part of the Ritz-Carlton, the Lido Key Tiki Bar is open to the public and maintains the utmost laidback vibe and is definitely not a dream. It just feels like one.

Sharky’s on the Pier in Venice lies directly in front of the famous Venice pier on the Gulf of Mexico, providing stunning views, photo ops, and people watching. Sip that local brew while being entertained by the diving water birds and wackiness that inevitably ensues on the beach. Watch as fishermen and women pull up lunkers from the sea and satisfy that watering mouth with Sharky’s extensive seafood-focused menu. A stroll on the beach, a game of volleyball, or a quick sandcastle and you’re back without ever changing your shoes, parking spot, or clothes. It’s a day and night come true.

If you’re lucky enough to arrive to your tiki via boat, Evie’s at Spanish Point is your destination. Hook up to a piling along the Intercoastal waters of Little Sarasota Bay in Osprey and quench that seafaring thirst with a cool drink. Whether arriving by land or sea, the tiki offers a coolest-backyard-in-the-neighborhood vibe. Live music and a searific menu top off the perfect night before you sail off into the stunning sunset.

Whatever the reason – allergies, a bad sunburn, whatnot – if you crave a tiki but need to dodge the beach for a bit, Walt’s Fish Market and Tiki Bar gives the tiki bar vibe with its palapa, boat drinks, and tropical tunes but without a beach in sight. The location cannot be easier to find along Tamiami Trail and the adjoining fish market makes the ‘what’s for dinner?’ question nonexistent. Keep that ease going.

A tiki bar is the bacon of the social world – everyone loves it and it’s always the right time to savor its awesomeness. Day or night, weekend or hump day, it’s perpetually acceptable to visit a tiki. You’re outside, it’s social, and there is probably some sort of fruit in that drink – it’s practically the gym. So what are you waiting for? It’s tiki time!